Front Matter

Chapter 1 What Is a Canine Athlete? 5

and performance events with websites that
provide a wealth of additional information.

Agility

Agility is an international sport in which
owner/handlers direct dogs over a course con­
sisting of 15–20 obstacles, including jumps
(Figure  1.1), tunnels, weave poles, seesaws,
A‐frames, dog walks, sometimes tables, and
sometimes other obstacles, in a race for both
time and accuracy. Dogs run off‐leash and the
handler cannot touch the dog, but instead
guides the dog by voice, movement, and vari­
ous body signals. This requires exceptional
training of the dog and coordination of the han­
dler. Dog–handler teams usually run outdoors
on grass or indoors on artificial turf, dirt, or
rubberized flooring. The handler can walk the
course ahead of time to determine strategies to
compensate for differences in his or her own

running speed versus that of his or her dog, and

for the different physical and training strengths

and weaknesses of the handler and the dog.

The height that agility dogs are required to

jump is determined by their height at the

withers (a point just cranial to the highest point

Sport Brief description Website(s) and description

Field trials/

hunt tests

Sports in which retrievers, setters, pointers,

spaniels, and poodles retrieve upland gamebirds

on land and in water

http://www.akc.org/events/hunting_tests/retrievers

http://www.akc.org/events/hunting‐tests/

pointing‐breeds

http://www.akc.org/events/hunting_tests/spaniels

http://www.akc.org/events/field_trials/beagles/

Earthdog tests A test in which terriers and Dachshunds run

through underground tunnels to find a caged rat

http://www.akc.org/events/earth‐dog/

Coon dog

tests

A competition that has many different facets,

including bench shows, field trials, night hunts, and

water races, providing owners with the opportunity

to demonstrate the beauty and natural abilities of

coonhounds

http://www.akccoonhounds.org/

Fox hunting An activity involving the tracking of a fox by trained

Foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of

unarmed followers who follow the hounds on foot

or on horseback

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_hunting

Schutzhund,

French ring

sport

Competitions that combine obedience, tracking,

and protection work

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutzhund

https://www.germanshepherddog.com/

about/schutzhund‐training/

http://www.ringsport.org/index.

php?pg=ringsport

Mushing An endurance competition in which dogs pull sleds

(or land rigs) over a specified course, which may

vary from 1 to 1150 miles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushing

Carting A sport in which a dog pulls a cart filled with

supplies, such as farm goods or firewood, and

sometimes people over a specified course

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_carting

Table 1.1 (Continued)

Figure 1.1 Dog jumping during agility competition.